Urban agriculture (UA) has become a contemporary issue, gaining
prominence especially in developing economies because it has been discovered
to be a viable poverty intervention strategy for the urban poor. However,
policy makers and government have deliberately neglected this veritable sector
and have failed to acknowledge it and channel attention to it. This study was
designed to assess the contribution of UA to the socio-economic development
of urban farmers in Nasarawa state. One urban town was purposively selected
from each of the 3 Senatorial zones in the state to give three (3) urban towns
namely Keffi, Akwanga and Lafia. Thirty (30) urban farmers were randomly
selected from each of the three urban centres giving a sample size of ninety
(90) respondents used for the study. Primary data used for the study were
collected with the aid of a well structured interview schedule which was
administered to the urban farmers by the researcher and trained enumerators.
Data analysis was achieved using simple descriptive statistics such as
frequency count, percentage and mean scores, while objective 5 was achieved
using a 3- point Likert type scale. The study revealed that the major benefits
derived from urban farming by the respondents were additional income
(75.56%), household feeding (55.56%) and full time employment opportunity
(28.89%). Urban farming contributed about 74% of the total annual income of
the respondents which implies that it was the major means of livelihood of the
respondents. However, certain constraints facing the enterprise were
identified which include poor extension service, lack of access to credit
facilities and high cost of labour. Since current employment situations in the
urban areas do not generate adequate income for the poor urban population it
was recommended that urban agriculture should be integrated into urban land
use planning in the state as a source of urban income, employment and food
security.